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June 25, 2014

THE OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT:The
Vice-President of India is the second highest constitutional office in the
country and is comparatively insignificant.

QUALIFICATIONS
FOR ELECTION

In order to be elected as
Vice-President, a person must be

(a) Citizen of India;

(b) must not be less 35 Years of age and

(c) must he qualified for election as
a Member of the Rajya Sabha. He
should not hold an office of profit under the Government of India or the
Government of any State.

TERM
OF OFFICE

Normal term of office of the Vice-
President is five years. However, he
continues to hold office until his successor enters upon his office.

RESIGNATION:

-Submits by writing to the President. The resignation becomes
effective from the day it is accepted.

Important
Note: The Constitution is silent on who
performs the duties of the Vice-President, when a vacancy occurs in the office
of the Vice-President of India, before the expiry of his term, or when the
Vice-President acts as the President of India.

REMOVAL
OF VICE PRESIDENT:

The Vice-President can be removed
from office by a resolution of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), passed by a
majority of its members at that time
and agreed by simple majority of Lok sabha
.

A resolution for this purpose may be
moved only after a notice of at least a minimum of 14 days has been given of such an intention.

EMOLUMENTS
AND ALLOWANCES

Salary = 1,25,000 per month. There are no additional
emoluments for the office.

He is also entitled to a pension at
the rate of fifty per cent of the salary.

When the Vice-President discharges
the functions of the President, he ceases to perform the duties of the Chairman
of the RajyaSabha.

While acting as President, he shall
receive the same emoluments and allowances as the President gets.

ELECTION
OF VICE-PRESIDENT(Article 66)

The election is to be held no later
than 60 days of the expiry of the term of office of the outgoing Vice President.

Indirect Election. The election will
be by the method of proportional representation with single transferable vote.

Each nomination paper should be
proposed by at least twenty electors
(MPs) and another twenty electors
should second the same. Earlier the requirement was five proposers and five
seconders.

Security Deposit by candidate
contesting for Vice President Election is Rs. 15,000.

Method of election of the
Vice-President is different from that of the President, in as much as the State Legislatures have no part in it.

He is elected by an Electoral College
consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament. Voters stack-rank the
candidates, assigning 1 to their first preference, 2 to their second
preference, and so on. The number of votes required by a candidate to secure
the election is calculated by dividing the total number of votes by two, and
adding one to the quotient by disregarding any remainder. If no candidate
obtains the required number of first-preference votes, the candidate with the
least number of first-preference votes is eliminated and his/her
second-preference votes are transferred. The process is repeated till a
candidate obtains the requisite number of votes. First, the first preference
votes are counted. If there is no candidate and the number of first preference
votes secured by each candidate is ascertained. Nominated members can also
participate in the election

All disputes arising in connection
with the election of the Vice President are petitioned to the Supreme Court of
India, which inquires into the matter. The petition is heard by a five-member
bench of the Supreme Court, which decides on the matter. The decision of the
Supreme Court is final

WHAT
ARE THE POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF INDIA?

Constitution confers upon the Vice- President
the following functions and duties:

(i) Article 64 The normal function of the Vice- President is to act as
the Ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. As Chairman of the RajyaSabha, he regulates debates and proceedings
of the House and decides the order of speeches. He decides the admissibility of
a resolution or of questions. He may suspend or adjourn the business of the
House in case of grave disorder. He issues directions to the Chairpersons of
various Committees in all matters relating to their working.

As
the Presiding Officer, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is the unchallenged
guardian of the prestige and dignity of the House.

He
is also the principal spokesman of the House and represents the collective
voice to the outside world.

He
ensures that the proceedings of the House are conducted in accordance with the
relevant constitutional provisions, rules, practices and conventions and that
decorum is maintained in the House.

He
is the custodian and guardian of the rights and privileges of the House and its
members.

As
Chairman of the Upper house, he is not bound to give reasons for his decisions.

His
rulings cannot be questioned or criticized and to protest against the ruling of
the Chairman is a contempt of the House.

(ii) Article 65 :The Vice-President will take over the
office of the President normally under these situations:

(a)death of the President

(b) resignation of the President,

(c) removal of the President, and

(d) when President, owing to absence,
illness or any other cause, is unable to discharge his functions.

Note:
In the event of the President's death, resignation or removal, the Vice-
President acts as President until a new President is elected and enters upon
his office.

OTHER FUNCTIONS INCLUDE:

-
represents the country on goodwill and
friendship missions to other countries or represents the country abroad on
occasions of national importance in those countries.

- is also consulted on formulation and implementation of Union policies. Though he is not
connected with the day-to-day affairs of the Union, he is posted with the
decisions of the Cabinet so that he has with him a complete picture of the
affairs of the Union Government.

-
By convention he is also the Chancellor
of some universities and in that capacity he is closely associated with
many eminent institutions of higher learning.

Following
6 Persons, who were the Vice President of India subsequently became the
President of India: Vice presidents who became President India Later

Dr.S.Radhakrishnan (1st Vice President of India)

Dr.Zakir Hussain (2nd Vice President of India)

Dr.V.V.Giri

Dr.R.Venkataraman

Dr.Shankar Dayal Sharma

Dr.K.R.Narayanan

List
of All Vice President's of India:

SNo.

Vice-President

Took office

Left office

President of that Period

1

Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan

13
May 1952

12
May 1962

Rajendra
Prasad

2

Zakir
Hussain

13
May 1962

12
May 1967

Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan

3

Varahagiri
Venkata
Giri

13
May 1967

3
May 1969

Zakir
Hussain

4

Gopal
Swarup Pathak

31
August 1969

30
August 1974

Varahagiri
Venkata
Giri

5

Basappa
Danappa Jatti

31
August 1974

30
August 1979

Fakhruddin
Ali Ahmed

6

Muhammad
Hidayat Ullah

31
August 1979

30
August 1984

Neelam
Sanjiva Reddy

7

Ramaswamy
Venkataraman

31
August 1984

27
July 1987

Giani
Zail
Singh

8

Shankar
Dayal Sharma

3
September 1987

24
July 1992

Ramaswamy
Venkataraman

9

Kocheril
Raman
Narayanan

21
August 1992

24
July 1997

Shankar
Dayal Sharma

10

Krishan
Kant

21
August 1997

27
July 2002

Kocheril
Raman
Narayanan

11

Bhairon
Singh Shekhawat

19
August 2002

21
July 2007

A.
P. J. Abdul Kalam

12

Mohammad
Hamid Ansari

11
August 2007

7
August 2012

Pratibha
Patil

13

Mohammad
Hamid Ansari

re-elected
on 7 August 2012

Till
date

Pranab
Mukuerjee

Dr.
S. Radhakrishnan (1952-1962) : Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Indian Scholar,
Philosopher, Writer and statesman, was born in 1888. Elected as the First Vice
President in 1952 and later the President. He taught at Oxford University for
16years. He was Chairman of UNESCO. 'The Hindu view of Life' and 'The India
Philosophy' are his books. He was Awarded with 'Bharat Ratna' in 1954. He Died
in 1975.

Attempt this Quiz:

Q) Which of the following Article is dealt with the election of Vice-President? a) Article 62 b) Article 64 c) Article 66 d) Article 68

Q) What are the qualifications to be elected as Vice-President? a) He is citizen of India b) He has completed the age of thirty five years c) He is qualified for election as a member of the Council of States. d) All the above